Berman has no Tyson regrets

2008-02-04 13:52

Johannesburg - Golden Gloves Promotions boss, Rodney Berman, has defended his decision to invite controversial former two-time world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson to the country.

Berman was reacting to a public condemnation of Tyson's visit where he was a guest at a fundraising dinner at Emperors Palace on Wednesday last week.

The event attended by the bigwigs from the sporting and political spectrum was, however, snubbed by ANC president Jacob Zuma, leaving SABC group chief executive officer Dali Mpofu to save the show.

Tyson also left diners stranded towards the end when he simply refused to have photos taken with them, sparking a near commotion.

Despite these setbacks, Berman hailed the visit as successful and worthwhile.

"There are no regrets from our side," he said. "We raised over R200 000 for charity and we are happy with that."

Berman admitted there were negative reports here and there but it was to be expected when dealing with a person of Tyson's calibre.

"There was a particular report from a certain journalist that I did not like because she quoted incidents which happened a long time ago."

He said the highlight of Tyson's visit was with the school kids in school in Soweto. "He was a hit with school kids there and he opened up a bit to them. It was obvious kids hold a special place in his heart."

The GGP boss said he was already working on inviting another international sport personality.

- SAPA